Precita Eyes

Precita Eyes Muralists Association was founded in 1977 by Susan and Luis Cervantes, who had come to the Bay Area several years before and started a family. Susan Cervantes was inspired by Las Mujeres Muralistas, the first all-women group of collaborative muralists. Cervantes adopted the Mujeres uralists' philosophy of collaborative, accessible, community art.

The organization evolved from a community mural workshop in which the participants designed and painted the mural “Masks of God, Soul of Man” for the Bernal Heights Library.{{Cite news|url = http://goldengatexpress.org/2013/03/14/mission-murals/|title = Muralist Community Provides Tours of Iconic SF Art|last = González|first = Guadalupe|date = March 14, 2013|work = Golden Gate Xpress|access-date = March 7, 2015}} The group signed the piece as Precita Eyes Muralists because the project was a collaborative effort. The name of the organization comes from the fact that most of the muralists were from Precita Valley, which gets its name from Precita Creek. Precita is a diminutive form of the Spanish word ‘presa,’ which means dam; the word ‘Precita’ means little dam.{{cite web | last = Cotter | first = Adrian | title = Creeks to Sewers| url = https://sfnhs.com/2014/06/10/creeks-to-sewers | date = 2014-06-10 | work = SF Natural History Series}} The ‘Eyes’ in the name are what we perceive the visual world with, our own eyes.

After the first mural, the group of artists continued to be interested in creating murals. They completed two major mural commissions and several more portable murals. Two years later, the group applied for non-profit status in 1979. In 1998 Precita Eyes expanded its operations with the purchase of the building at 2981 24th Street, near the well-known Balmy Alley.Precita Eyes Muralists, Precita Eyes Organizational History, Press kit. Retrieved on March 03, 2008 As of 2007, Precita Eyes had supported nearly 100 murals in the Mission neighborhood,{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/arts/artsspecial/28mural.html?_r=0|title = A Neighborhood Is a Gallery, Its Brick Walls Canvases|last = Villano|first = Matt|date = March 28, 2007|work = New York Times|access-date = March 7, 2015}}

Precita Eyes celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2007/10/17/DDB9SQCP0.DTL&o=0 Precita Eyes celebrates three decades of making walls, and community, bloom], "dd_precita034.jpg" caption, San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 2007, access date July 18, 2008 and continues to conduct several mural projects each year. Recent projects include two international projects, one in Beijing, China[http://www.1990institute.org/news/jul07.pdf What's happening in China]{{dead link|date=February 2024|bot=medic}}, by Nicolas C. Hope, Stanford Center for International Development, May 11, 2007, access date July 18, 2008 and the other in parts of the West Bank and Lebanon. Other recent local projects involved the restoration of two San Francisco Parks, Excelsior Playground and Crocker-Amazon Playground. They also host an annual Urban Youth Arts Festival, with artists painting on boards in Precita Park.{{cite news |last= Fitzgerald Rodriguez |first= Joe |date= July 22, 2014 |title= Graffiti artists tagging in the sunshine at Precita Park |url= http://www.sfbg.com/pixel_vision/2014/07/22/photo-gallery-graffiti-artists-tagging-sunshine-precita-park |newspaper= San Francisco Bay Guardian |access-date= March 7, 2015}}

Murals are an expression of the culture of the neighborhood; in an article about Precita Eyes, muralist Juana Alicia Montoya said "In the 1960s and '70s, the Mission District became the cultural heart of the Chicano movement in California... and the murals were an integral part of that movement, as was theater and poetry."{{Cite news|url = http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/MISSION-Celebrating-art-that-draws-people-2349295.php |title = Celebrating art that draws people together|last = Tyche Hendricks|first = Tyche|date = May 6, 2005|work = SFGate |access-date = March 7, 2015}} The book Chicana and Chicano Art: ProtestArte says "Arts organizations such as Precita Eyes continue to support Chicano muralism's original objective: to create public art that authentically represents a community's history and culture."{{cite book |last= Jackson |first= Carlos Francisco |date= 2009 |title= Chicana and Chicano Art: ProtestArte |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2XfaMxFIyo0C&q=precita%20eyes%20art%20classes%20youth&pg=PA81 |publisher= University of Arizona Press |page= 81 |isbn= 9780816526475 |access-date= March 7, 2015 }}

[[File:Balmy Alley Mission SF2.jpg|thumb|right

|alt=A Precita Eyes' mural on a garage door and fence in Balmy Alley

|A Precita Eyes' mural on a garage door and fence in Balmy Alley

]]

Precita Eyes Muralists is one of only a handful of mural arts organizations in the United States.{{Cite news|url = http://www.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2014/06/13/tourism-for-locals-precita-eyes-paints-the-city-pretty|title = Tourism For Locals: Precita Eyes Paints the City Pretty|last = De Anda|first = Juan|date = June 13, 2014|work = SF Weekly|access-date = March 7, 2015}} It maintains two centers. The original Mural Arts Center across from Precita Park at 348 Precita Avenue is used primarily by the education program for toddler, kids and youth classes. The Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center, at 2981 24th Street, conducts mural tours; has a small art supply and mural merchandise store; is used as a gallery space and a space for workshops for adults to plan and design mural art; has space to work on mosaics and portable murals; and contains Precita Eyes Muralists’ Offices.

Precita Eyes Muralists offers weekly art classes for toddlers, children and youth 18 months to 19 years old.{{cite web |url= http://www.artandarchitecture-sf.com/precita-eyes-covers-mcdonalds-in-paint.html |title= Precita Eyes covers McDonald's in Paint |last1= Casey |first1= Cindy |date= March 25, 2013 |website= Art and Architecture - San Francisco |access-date= March 7, 2015}}

Precita Eyes offers walking tours that cover mural history and the cultural and historical significance of the murals in Balmy Alley and the wider Mission district.{{Cite news|url = http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-art-walks-in-the-bay-area/|title = Best Art Walks In The Bay Area|last = Miller Farr|first = Laurie Jo|date = January 26, 2015|work = CBS SF Bay Area|access-date = March 7, 2015}} Tours are open to the public during the weekends. Private tours for large groups such as school classes or visiting groups can be scheduled during the weekday and are tailored to the audience.

• Calle 24 Latino Cultural District

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3333522 Community Murals as Democratic Art and Education] by David Conrad, Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Spring, 1995), pp. 98–102, University of Illinois Press
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=vXq4CsudDtYC Coming Up Taller: Arts And Humanities Programs For Children And Youth At], by Judith Humphreys Weitz, 1996, Diane Publishing

{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}

• [http://www.precitaeyes.org Official website]

{{Bay Area Arts Organizations}}

{{San Francisco Attractions}}

Category:American artist groups and collectives

Category:Murals in San Francisco

Category:Arts organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:Mission District, San Francisco

Category:Arts organizations established in 1977

Category:1977 establishments in California